by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

Smith fired four touchdown passes and led the Chiefs to scores on six of their first seven possessions.

Yet it wasn't enough to overcome an Andrew Luck-led Indianapolis Colts comeback in Saturday's 45-44 wild-card elimination. The Chiefs haven't won a postseason game since the 1993 season - Joe Montana was calling the shots then - and have lost eight in a row in the playoffs.

Dual-threat all-pro tailback Jamaal Charles was lost to a concussion on the game's opening drive. Chiefs Receiver Donnie Avery and cornerback Brandon Flowers also suffered concussions. Finally, rookie running back Knile Davis, who scored two touchdowns in relief of Charles, was carted off in the fourth quarter with a knee injury as the Chiefs (11-6) watched a 38-10 third-quarter lead disintegrate.

"Any time you're leading like that and then have them battle back and then take it ... losing by a point is a tough pill to swallow," said Smith, who threw for 378 yards and rushed eight times for 57 yards.

Smith overthrew third-string running back Cyrus Gray, who was running free deep down the right sideline for what should have been his fifth scoring pass of the day. But Gray didn't receive any practice repetitions because Charles had an NFL-best 19 touchdowns this season, led the AFC with 1,287 rushing yards and was the centerpiece of coach Andy Reid's offense.

"Any time you get an opportunity like that, you expect to hit," said Smith. "It's just something we have never repped with Cyrus.

"But still got to hit it though."

Still, Smith may have finally shed the "game manager" label that has dogged him since the San Francisco 49ers drafted him first overall in 2005 rather than picking Aaron Rodgers.

Reid and general manager John Dorsey swung a March trade for Smith, and the 29-year-old quarterback justified it by helping lead a dramatic turnaround from 2-14 debacle in 2012 to 9-0 start and an eventual wild-card berth in 2013.

Though the Chiefs weathered several late-season injuries as they limped into the playoffs, losing Charles on Saturday was apparently too much.

"I thought Alex did a good job," Reid said. "Jamaal's a great player, and you can use that as an excuse. ... But the guys never did.

"I mean that's just how they approach it. ... I'm proud of them for that."

The Chiefs and Colts combined for more than 1,000 yards and 89 points, but Kansas City managed just six points on its final six possessions.

"They did a nice job, 35 points in the second half," Reid said, referencing Indianapolis' comeback. "We started kicking field goals, and they started scoring touchdowns. ... But they deserve the win for the way they played.

"I'm proud of my guys for the season.

"We've got to work through the offseason to get ourselves better so we can do a better job against a team like this right here."